It is generally well known among those who hike the trails of our scenic country that there are several natural enemies of the back-packer. One such enemy is the sun which when unshielded, beats down upon the back-packer's head, face and neck to cause the discomforts of heat and sunburn and also creates the discomforts and danger of sun poisoning and heat prostration. Another such enemy is exhaustion resulting from the long hard trek over a variety of terrain with the necessities of survival being carried along, usually in a back-pack supported on a lightweight metal frame which is in turn supported by the back-packer's back, waist and shoulders.
Prior to the invention of the sun-shield comprising this invention, there had been no known simple, convenient and lightweight means for a back-packer, wearing a conventional back-pack, to protect his head, face and neck from the sunlight. The use of a brimmed hat for that purpose is ineffective because the enclosed cap portion of the hat prevents the free flow of air and results in the accumulation of heated, trapped air above the back-packer's head. The brim of the hat presents the additional disadvantage of the restriction of head motion due to the interference of the back-pack frame with the brim, upon rotation of the back-packer's head.
A principal object of invention is to provide a simple and convenient addition to conventional back-pack equipment which will shield the back-packer from direct sunlight without the usual disadvantages of a brimmed hat and without the addition of significant weight to the back-packer's equipment burden which would result in an increased risk of exhaustion.
It is therefore an additional object of invention to provide a sun-shield which is compatible with conventional back-pack frames.
It is also an object of this invention to provide an easily erectable and collapsible sun-shield canopy so that it is convenient for the back-packer to store the canopy assembly with his other gear when the sun is down, or when he is not using his equipment and so that it is equally convenient for the back-packer to attach the canopy assembly when the sun rises while he is on the trail.
It is yet another object of invention to provide additional inherent conveniences for the back-packer by virtue of his wearing the sun-shield. These additional conveniences include a pack extender as an inherent function of the sun-shield structure; and means for protection of the back-packer from his other natural enemies such as rain and insects, said means for protection comprising various simple attachments to the sun-shield comprising this invention.
It is still an additional object of invention to provide a substantial degree of flexibility of flap configuration for blocking sunlight from any direction relative to the backpacker's direction of travel while concurrently permitting only a minimum obstruction of the back-packer's vision.
Some of the objects of invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.